RNCM Chamber Orchestra with Royal Northern Sinfonia Players

Based in the North East, the Royal Northern Sinfonia is the UK’s only full-time chamber orchestra, and we’re thrilled to welcome four of their principal players to Manchester to work side-by-side with our students.

Mozart’s overture from his opera Don Giovanni revolutionised the opera intro. By weaving in music from the opera’s dramatic climax for the first time, Mozart used the overture to foreshadow the gripping narrative ahead. This innovative approach, which might seem commonplace these days, was a ground-breaking method of setting the stage for the audience’s journey into the storytelling of the opera.

By contrast, Poulenc’s Sinfonietta offers the perfect foil to the dark and foreboding nature of Mozart’s music in Don Giovanni. Poulenc crafted his ‘little’ symphony’ to be light-hearted, deliberately eschewing any symphonic weightiness or dramatic gravitas often associated with classical symphonic works. The piece unapologetically overflows with popular turns and dance rhythms dotted with moments of satire, reflecting the ‘bon vivant’ lifestyle Poulenc enjoyed at the time.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Don Giovanni Overture K 527
Francis Poulenc Sinfonietta

Royal Northern Sinfonia Players:
Kyra Humphreys director, violin
Gabriel Waite cello
Charlotte Ashton flute
Adam Wood trumpet
RNCM Chamber Orchestra